Finally, I have watched the whole series and, thankfully, it ended not as I suspected after picking up on what I thought were hints and clues on the way and also, having not read the discs properly, sooner than I expected which was a great surprise. I was thinking that that last scene was genius even when I didn't know it was the last one ever as it kept the tension up without actually showing anything dramatic in a Hitchcockian manner. The only thing that I really think confused me was that I initially thought that Tony killed Christopher to stop him suffering a slow death but I read quite a few things saying that they thought he killed him to get him out of the way - which is how my wife called it. I know that we talked previously how vile Paulie becomes but I also think that, regular reminders what a cunt Tony is aside, the one that really becomes dislikable is Carmela for the manner in which she becomes more and more happy to be bought off while still trying to keep some moral higher ground. Obviously, in the cold light of day, there is no-one really likeable in there but Carmela's hypocrisy becomes more and more pronounced - echoed somewhat by Meadow and AJ's in the latter series.
But is her hypocrisy not a defence mechanism. She wants out but can't. She wants out so much that she even falls for a mafia underling, but she is stripped of choice, by force of Tony's will and her own helplessness (which reveals itself when she is separating from Tony). So she bargains and accommodates. It makes her unlikable for sure, but also pitiable.
Meadow, on the other hand, knows exactly what she is settling for. She has seen the horror and she has alternatives. She ditches her ideals and effectively joins the circus. Toiny didn't want his kids to enter his world, but Meadow is his poisoned fruit
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